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                                                                    EXHIBIT 18.1

TransAmerican Refining Corporation
1300 North Sam Houston Parkway East
Houston, Texas 77032

Gentlemen:

We are providing this letter to you for inclusion as an exhibit to your Form
10-Q filing pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K.

We have read management's justification for the change in accounting method for
inventory pricing from the average cost method to the first-in-first-out method
and the change in accounting method for turnaround costs from the accrual
method to the deferral method contained in TransAmerican Refining Corporation's
(the "Company") Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 1998.  Based on our
reading of the data and discussions with Company officials of the business
judgment and business planning factors relating to the changes, we believe
management's justification to be reasonable.  Accordingly, we concur that the
newly adopted accounting principles described above are preferable in the
Company's circumstances to the methods previously applied.

We have not audited any financial statements of the Company as of any date or
for any period subsequent to January 31, 1998, nor have we audited the
application of the changes in accounting principles disclosed in the Company's
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 1998; accordingly, our comments are
subject to revision on completion of an audit of the financial statements that
include the accounting changes.




                                                      PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Houston, Texas
September 14, 1998